Dianor makes history

Quebec-based Dianor Resources Inc. can be added to the growing number of companies that have put a standby equity distribution agreement in place. But unlike the others, Dianor, which has a diamond exploration project in Northern Ontario, made a little history on the way through.

Dianor has signed a $30-million deal with New York-based Kodiak Capital Group LLC. Dianor, formed in 2002, is the first TSX Venture-listed mining exploration company to have such an arrangement.

The deal was signed this week, more than four months after it was announced. Since then, Dianor has been before the regulators seeking the required approvals -- and getting the program tweaked, including whether the buyer will receive freely traded shares. To access the cash, Dianor must first file a shelf prospectus.

It will access that cash under strict terms and conditions, including minimum prices (5¢), maximum discount (10%), maximum amounts (both in terms of a particular drawdown and over a 12-month period), and the term of the agreement (three years).

"This is a method of financing that should work well for us because we have upside given that we are undertaking the world's' largest bulk sample for diamonds," said John Ryder, Dianor's Irish-born president, adding he views his Wawa project as unique because it contains rubies, sapphires and gold. "It is our belief that diamond production has peaked and that current world diamond reserves are in the area of 17 to 20 years," added Ryder, who regards the project as "large-volume and medium-grade."

A standby equity distribution agreement is the latest example of Dianor's fundrasing efforts. Over the past five years it has sold equity by a slew of different approaches, including private placements either through brokers or directly with institutions and flow-through shares. Along the way it has issued a lot of shares: At the end of 2009, it had 211 million shares outstanding; five years earlier, it had 77 million shares outstanding. Since 2002, it has raised about $46-million, two-thirds of which has been spent at Wawa.

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Two recent studies on investor satisfaction with full-service brokerage firms, both conducted by the same research company, provide some insight into the views of U.S. and Canadian retail investors.

- In both cases, RBC Wealth Management (in the United States) and RBC Dominion Securities (in Canada) were ranked number two after J.D. Power and Associates surveyed their clients in the United States and Canada, respectively. In the survey of 4,460 U.S. clients, RBC was ranked second overall to Edward Jones while in the survey of 6,500 Canadian clients, RBC was second overall to Raymond James Ltd. In 2009, Raymond James, which runs two brokerage models, one known as the independent agent and the other known as the traditional employee-broker, was also ranked first in a survey of Canadian clients.

- But in terms of overall satisfaction, a measure based on seven variables. all the Canadian full-service brokerage firms rank behind MD Financial/ MD Management Ltd., a full-service brokerage firm that caters to the country's physicians.

- Overall satisfaction is higher among U.S. clients of U.S. full-service brokers than it is among Canadian clients of Canadian full-service brokers. And overall satisfaction among clients is up in both countries -- though by more among Canadian clients.

bcritchley@nationalpost.com